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Lee Ryder

Inside the bonkers summer when Newcastle United became 'Dad's Army' and signed Rush, Barnes and Pearce

Newcastle Newcastle United Ian Rush Kenny Dalglish Stuart Pearce Alan Shearer John Barnes Ruud Gullit Forest Les Ferdinand

Newcastle United could only have dreamed of signing stars like John Barnes, Ian Rush and Stuart Pearce at the start of the 1990s.

But by 1997, they had all three on their books after an intriguing summer on Tyneside under Kenny Dalglish. Having qualified for the Champions League for the first time, Dalglish needed experience in his squad but the move resulted in the Toon squad being nicknamed "Dad's Army" due to the veteran nature the Scot's signing spree.

Barnes arrived at St James' Park as a 33-year-old after turning down West Ham following his release from Liverpool. Having sold Les Ferdinand to Tottenham against the wish of the fans, an injury to Alan Shearer in pre-season left Newcastle woefully short of options in attack.

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